Evaporating apparatus.



' PATENTED MAY 19, 1903.

No. 728,395. 4H.H0WA RD.' I

EVAPORATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 24. 1900.

2 sums-SHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

NORFUS Penns co. mom-1.1mm wuuwm'ou o c UNITED STATES 5 E'atented May19, 1903.

HENRY HOWARD, OF BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS.

EVAPO RATING AP RATU'SL SPECIFICATION forming part ofLetters Patent o.728,395, dated May 19, 1903.

7 Application filed May 24, 1900.

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY HOWARD, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Brookline, county of Norfolk, State of'Massachusetts, haveinvented an Improvement in Evaporating Apparatus, of which the followingdescription, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is aspecification, like numerals on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates more particularly to that class of apparatusdesigned for the'evaporation of solutions which precipitate'salts orsolid matter during concentrationsucl 1, for instance, as in themanufacture of common salt, caustic soda, &c. In such apparatus thesolution is concentrated in large open shallow pans, the contents ofwhich are suitably heated, and as the salt or solid matter is depositedupon'the panbottom it is removed therefrom from time to time by largehoes or scrapers manipulated by hand. This procedure is slow, and thesalt or solid matter removed has a large quantity of liquid mattercontained therein, owing to the fact that there. islittleopportunityaflorded-for drainage as the solid matter is removed.

My present invention has for its object the production of means forremoving automatically and constantly the deposited solid matter fromtheevaporatingpan, such matter being carried overa drainage-surfaceprior to discharge, thereby permitting excess liquor to drain off backinto the pan.

The various novel features of my invention will be hereinafter fullydescribed, and particularly pointed out in'the following claims.

Figure lis a top or plan view broken out transversely between its endsof an apparatus embodying one form of my present invention. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal sectional view thereof, also broken out, taken on the lineas a, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of one of the scrapers tobe described. Fig. 4t is a longitudinal sectionalview thereof on theline 00' m, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an enlarged side view of one of theshaft-supporting links of the conveyor. Fig. 6 is a left-hand endelevation thereof, showing the supporting antifrictionroll; and Fig. 7is a top or plan view thereof.

The evaporating-pan used in connection Serial No. 17,811. (no model.)

with my'present invention is herein shown as comprising a bottom portion1 and upright side's 2, suitably flanged andv riveted together to make'acomparatively shallow and long pan, the bottom at one end being upwardlyf'ouryed, as at 3, to the'top of the sides and continued above the'sameas an upright wall or guard4,extended across that end of the pan andsuitably braced, as at 5. At its 0p 'posite end the bottom is upwardlyinclined,

as at 6; from the flat bottom 1 up to the top.

of the "sides, and in Fig. 2 said inclined portion' is shown asterminating in a transverselyextended'lip 7. The pan is mounted onsuitable supports, only one of which, as 8, is shown in Fig. 2, and asthe furnaces or heatore for heating the contents of the pan form no partof my invention I have omitted the same. I have mounted upon the pansides at intervals bearings 9, 10, and 11 for transverse shafts 1'2, 13,and 14, respectively, the shaft 12 being looatedsubstantially above theend of the bottom 1,'which is upwardly inclined, while the shaft let islocated near the opposite end of the pan. The pan is shown as broken outbetween its ends in Figs. 1 and 2 to save space, and it will beunderstood that as many shafts similar to the shaft 13 as may benecessary will be interposed between the shafts 12 and 14. On the shaft13, or as many of them as are used, are

fmounted two idler and guide sheaves 15 near the ends of the shafts, butwithin the upright sides 2 of the pan,'an d over these idlerguidesheaves are passedthe upper runs of an end less conveyor,shownherei'n as comprising two like endless flexiblemembers 16, whichare preferably formed of metallic links jointed or articulated to giveproper flexibility to the said members, they passing also aroundguidesheaves 17, secured to the shaft 14 within the upright sides of thepan. At suitable intervals a special link 18 is inserted in each end;-less member of the conveyor, one of: such special links being shown inenlarged detail in Figs. 5, 6, and 7, the bodyof the link beingbifurcated to receive an antifriction-rollli), journaled at 20 betweenthe sides of the body of the link 18, and said body is provided with across-bar 21 for pivotal attachment to one 7 of the adjacent links,while at its upper end the body is provided with a hook-like memher 22for pivotal connection with the other adjacent link. As shown in Fig. 5,the general construction of the body in side elevation is triangular,the cross-bar 21, hook 22, and roll 19 being located substantially atthe angles of the triangle, and when these special links are in place,as shown in Fig. 2, they project either above the upper run or below thelower run of the conveyor, and when on the lower run the rolls 19 travelover the panbottom and prevent excessive friction and wear, as would beotherwise the case. Each oppositely-located pair of links 18 isconnected by a transverse bar 23, secured in a hole 24, made in the bodyof each link 18, maintaining the endless flexible member 16 of theconveyer separated a constant distance.

On each of the transverse bars 23 I mount one or more scrapers,(shownseparately in enlarged detail in Figs. 3 and 4,) each scraper beingshown preferably as a casting having parallel side arms 25, having atone end elongated eyes or loops 26 and connected by a cross-bar 27,while at the other end the arms are connected by a heavy crossbar 28,having its lower edge beveled, as at 29, Fig. 4, to form a species ofhoe. The eyes or loops 26 receive the transverse bar 23, connecting theflexible members of the conveyer, and said eyes or loops are elongatedto permit of a rocking or tilting movement of the scraper upon the barabout an axis parallel to the direction of movement of the conveyer, aswell as permitting its free pivotal movement thereon about an axistransverse to the direction of movement of the conveyer.

In Fig. 1 I have shown a numberof scrapers arranged side by side on eachof the transverse bars 23, the adjacent scrapers being separated bycollars 30 on the bar interposed between each pair of scrapers. In Fig.2 a number of the scrapers are shown in operative position travelingover the pan-bottom to collect the salts or solid matter deposited uponthe pan-bottom by concentration or evaporation of the liquor therein,the direction of travel of the lower run of the conveyer being shown bythe arrow in Fig. 2, and by referring to said Fig. 2 it will be noticedthat when the bars 23 are on the upper run of the conveyer the scraperswill depend, but the members 16 will be supported by the guidesheaves atasuflicient height to make the operation satisfactory. As the scraperspass from the upper to the lower run of the conveyer at the right-handend of the pan, viewing Figs. 1 and 2, itis necessary to act upon thescrapers successively to swing them bodily upon their transversesupports 23 in such manner that when they reach the bottom of the panthey will be in proper scraping position, and for this purpose I haveinserted a scraper-positioning device between the guide and supportingsheaves 17, said device being shown as a slightly-concaved plate 31,mounted on supports 32 and extended over the shaft 14.

L- vases? As the scrapers of a set approach this end of the pan theyengage the upper or convex surface of the device 31 and are graduallybrought into a substantially horizontal position, and after thetransverse bar 23 passes below the outer end of the positioning device31 the scrapers will swing over and outward against the upright guard 4,which latter prevents the scrapers from catching 011 the end of the pan,and then as the bars 23 move onto the lower run the scrapers will fallinto proper position to sweep over the bottom of the pan. As the solidmatter is collected by the scrapers in their movement over the panbottomit is carried along and up the inclined portion 6,which projects abovethe level of the liquid in the pan, so that the solid matter will havean opportunity to drain as it is carried up toward the discharge ordelivery end of the pan, the excess or surplus liquor running back intothe main body in the pan. As the scrapers reach the upper end of theinclined portion 6 they push the solid matter over the lip 7 into atransverse trough or receptacle 33, extended beneath the delivery end ofthe pan, and in Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown the trough as provided with aconveyer 34, which by its rotation serves to carry the contents of thetrough to one end to be there discharged into suitable receptacles or tobe otherwise disposed of.

The shaft 12 has looselymounted upon it two like supporting and guidesheaves 35 for the endless member 16 of the conveyer, it being noted byreference to Fig. 2 that the diameter of these sheaves is such that notonly will the scrapers when on the upper run he held up out of range ofthe shaft 12 or of the lower run of the conveyer, but also that thelower run will bemaintained in proper position in the pan to preventlifting of the lower run from one end of the pan to the other to such anextent as to prevent proper action of the scrapers. The bights of theconveyer mem- IIO bers 16 beyond the sheaves 35 pass arounddriving-sprockets 36, one of which is best shown in Fig. 2, fast on ashaft 37, mounted in suitable bearings in the pan, and by means of whichdriving-sheaves the endless conveyer is moved longitudinally of the pan,the draft being applied to the lower run of the conveyer.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the shaft 37 has fast upon it at one end,beyond the pan side, a large sprocket-wheel 38, connected by a chain orother driving belt 39 with a small or pinion sprocket 40, fast on theshaft 12, outside of its bearing 9, and said shaft at its other end hasfast therein beyond the pan a large sprocket-wheel 41, connected by achain or other belt 42 with a small sprocket 43, secured to or formingpart of a sleeve 44, loosely mounted on the shaft 37 and held in placethereon by a collar 45. The sleeve 44 is also provided with abelt-pulley 46, by which rotation is imparted to the sleeve from anysuitablesourceof power. (Notshown) Now at a slow speed, and the speed ofthe shaft 37 will be still further reduced by the transmitting means,comprising the small sprocketwheel 40, belt 39, andlarge sprocket-wheel38. The speed of rotation of the shaft 37,"

which is the driving-shaft for the conveyer, is thus reduced to thedesired speed without rendering necessary very slow rotation of thebelt-pulley 46.

I prefer to arrange successive sets of,

scrapers in staggered order, as shown in Fig. l, to prevent the samefrom forming ridges or furrows in the solid material on the bottom ofthe pan. The pan-bottom will become by usage warped or somewhat buckled,due to the heat and wear, and it is necessary in view of suchinequalities to mount the'scrapers fiexiblmfis it were, on theirtransverse bars as, forinstance, by the elongated eyes or loops 26,hereinbefore referred to. This form of connection between the scraperand the conveyer permits the scraper to adapt itself to the contour ofthe pan-bottom and to most effectually clear or scrape the same of thesolid matter as it is deposited thereon. The rolls 19 of the speciallinks preferably travel upon the tops of the inturned flanges 48 at thelower edges of the upright'sides? of the pan.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and-desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. In apparatus of the class described, an

evaporating-pan, an endless conveyer'mow.

able longitudinally and adjacent the bottom thereof, a series ofscrapers pivotally connected to said conveyer, means to actuate thelatter, a scraper-positioning device adapted to be engaged by thescrapers as they pass from the upper to the lower run of the conveyer,and to swing them into operative position, and a guard registering withthe end wall of the pan and serving to limit the swinging movement ofsaid scrapers.

2. In apparatus of the class described, an

I elongated evaporating-pan, a traveling conveyer comprising two endlessflexible members located near the opposite sides of the pan, actuatingmeans forthe conveyer, transverse bars connecting the two endlessmembers, a plurality of scrapers pivotaliy mounted on each of the barsand adapted when on the lowerrun to sweep over the pan-bottom,

a scraper-positioning device adapted to be engaged by each of thescrapers as they pass from the upper to the lower run'of the 0on veyer,and operating to swing the scrapers into operative position, and a guardregistering, with the end wall of the pan and directing the-scrapersinto the pan.

3, In apparatus ofthe class described, an

elongated evaporating-pan, a traveling conveyer comprising two endless'fiexiblemembers located near the oppositesides of the pan, the lowerruns of said memberstravel ingbetween the sides of the pan, a series oflinks "in each member" provided with sup porting-rolls, transverse barsconnecting o'pposite pairs of said links, one or more scrapers pivotallymounted on e'ach of said'bars, to

sweep the pan-bottom when on the'lowerrun of the conveyer, therolls atsuch time-pro j 175 and the pan-bottom, and means to actuate ventingengagement ofthe endless members theconveyer. V

4:. In apparatus of the class described, an elongated evaporating-pan, atraveling conveyer comprising two endless, articulated nally of the pan,and between theopposite sides thereof, pairs of oppositely-located links1 members arranged in parallelism longitudiforming parts of saidmembers, saidlin'ks being provided with supporting-rolls, atransone ormore scrapers flexibly mounted "on said bars, to sweep the pan-bottomwhen on the lower run of the conveyer, and means to apply draft tothe'lower' run thereof,said

verse bar connecting each pair of suchlinks,

supporting-rolls operating to space the lower run of the conveyer fromthe pan-bottom.

5, In apparatus of the class described, an

evaporating-pan, a plurality of endless, flexible conveyer membersmovable in parallel ism, cross-bars connecting them, rotatable of thesaid members, driving-sheaves for the latter, and a plurality ofscrapers mounted on each of the cross-bars, each scrapen'comprising atransverse blade, parallel side arms having elongated openings jto'receive the cross-bar, and a rigid connection between the side armsator'near their-inner ends.

6. In apparatus of the class described, an elongated, shallowevaporating -pan having one end upturned to form a scraper-guard,

the bottom of the pan at the'opposite end beingupwardly inclined'tosubstantially the level of the pan s ides, an endless conveyormoun'tedabove the pan' and'com prising aplurality of endless,fiexiblemembersarranged in parallelism and connected'at intervals bytransverse bars, rotatable"guide-supports'for said members to maintainthe lower run of the conveyor adjacent the pan-bottom, scraperspivotally. mounted on the cross-bars, and" a idlers to support and guidethe upper runs movable throughout'fa-portion of its'length adjacent thebottom .of the'pan, a series of scrapers pivotally and flexiblyconnected with the con veyer, means to actuate the la tter,'a scraperpositioning device adaptedtobe ens.

- gaged by said scrapersastheypassfrom the upper to the lowerrunoftheconveyer, and a guard registering-with theend wall of the pan andserving to limit'themovement of said as they swing into operative "posi=scrapers tion.

8. In an apparatus of the class described, an evaporatin'g-pan,anendless conveyer movable longitudinally of the pan,and comprising twoparallel, endless flexible members connected bya series of transversebars, scrapers mounted on said bars, a shaft having driving members fastthereon for said conveyor members, a large sprocket-wheel fast on oneend of the shaft, a sleeve loose on the other end of the shaft, having adriving-pulley and a small attached sprocket-wheel, a second parallelshaft having two guide members loose thereon to guide and support theupper and lower runs of said conveyor members, a large sprocket-wheelfast on one end of said shaft and operatively connected with the smallsleeve-sprocket, a small sprocket fast on the opposite end of the secondshaft, and a flexible power-transmitting connection between it and thelarge sprocket on the first-mentioned shaft, whereby the latter isdriven by or through the connections between it and the driving-pulleyon the loose sleeve.

9. In apparatus of the class described, an evaporating-pan,anendlessconveyer movable longitudinally thereof, a series of scrapers,and means to connect them to said conveyer and permit independentrocking movement of the separate scrapers about axes substantiallyparallel to the direction of movement of the conveyer.

10. In apparatus of the class described, an evaporating-pan, a series ofscrapers, means to move the series longitudinally of the pan,connections between said means and the series of scrapers, each of saidscrapers being movable on the connections about axes both parallel andtransverse to the direction of movement, whereby the scrapers may adaptthemselves to the bottom of the pan.

11. In apparatus of the class described, an evaporating-pan, an endlessconveyer movable longitudinally and adjacent the bottom thereof, aseries of scrapers connected to said conveyer, and means to permit arocking movement of the scrapers about an axis substantially parallel tothe direction of movement of the conveyer, and also a swinging movementabout an axis transverse thereto.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY HOWARD.

Witnesses:

J OHN O. EDWARDS, AUGUSTA E. DEAN.

